To an Early Grave
by Seito
Summary: A series of conversations that didn't happen. Or in which Aizawa is Team Mom and his kids are going to drive him into an early grave.


My first BNHA fic! Finally!

Aizawa is a Team Mom and no one can convince me otherwise. -bricked-

* * *

In the aftermath of the Sports Festival, Shouta checked up on Izuku, who, as always, had taken too much upon himself. The boy's hand was in tattered ruins from his fight against Todoroki.

"That boy," Shouta grumbled. Absolutely no control. Or rather not enough.

He found Izuku's mother, Inko in the waiting area.

"Aizawa-sensei," Inko greeted him with a wide smile. "Are you looking for Izuku?"

"Midoriya-san," Shouta said. "Yes. I wanted to check up on him."

"My reckless boy," Inko said. Her voice was fond and just a little sad, full of regret. It was easy to tell that was she so proud of him, but also so worried.

"Your boy is going to drive me to an early grave," Shouta grumbled darkly. He never shied away from speaking his mind.

Inko just pat his hand. "I'll make you a cup of tea next time," she said, her smile just a little wider.

Shouta grumbled.

Two days later, a shuffling, sheepish Izuku approached Shouta with a thermos of hot tea, a stress ball and a sincere apology for the worry he caused.

Midoriya Izuku might drive Shouta to an early grave, but Midoriya Inko would forever be a godsend.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The aftermath of the Entrance Exam and his new class list had Shouta bowing his head in resignation.

"Looks like you got a good batch of kids," Present Mic said.

Shouta scoffed and rewind the video clip he was watching. Once more, he saw Midoriya Izuku put himself in grave danger to save a girl. "Reckless kid," Shouta mumbled.

"Already planning which kids are going to fail?" Present Mic said.

"This one is going to be the first to go," Shouta said with just a twitch of annoyance. He watched as Recovery Girl fixed Midoriya's crushed arm.

"He's got potential," Present Mic said, rubbing his chin in a thoughtful manner. "He did save the girl and that Quirk is something else. He blew away the Gimmick without even trying."

"He also broke his arm in the process, doing damage to himself in the process. What good is his Quirk if using it just once causes that kind of backlash? If he failed to stop his enemy or is even up against a group of them, he will be in trouble," Shouta said. "He also spent the entire exam running around and if the girl hadn't been in trouble, he still would have had zero points. He may want to be a hero, he may have the potential, but his chances of succeeding are zero."

"Just go easy on him when you crush his dreams," Present Mic said, all too aware of Shouta's track record of expelling students.

"No. It is better to crush their dream ruthlessly then to give them a hope spot for something they'll never achieve. Being a Pro-Hero is not for everyone and it certainly isn't a game. We don't need him to think he could be a hero and running around naively into situations, thinking he can handle it. He'll get killed that way."

The world didn't need any more dead children.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Three days after the Sports Festival, Shouta overheard a conversation as he had entered the staff room.

"That boy who won has quite a temper doesn't he?"

"So violent though. Is he really fit to be a hero?"

Without any thought about it, Shouta had crossed the room and aggressively slam the book he had been carrying down on the table, startling the gossiping staff. "Bakugou Katsuki is a great kid who will one day be a great hero," he said, voice sharp and harsh.

"Aizawa…"

"You're not even a bit worried?"

"No," Shouta snapped, glaring darkly. "Not a single bit."

He had faith in his students.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

He woke to white ceilings, a room full of flowers and balloons, and the feeling of tight bandages.

"I see you're awake, Shouta," Recovery Girl said. She smiled warmly at him. "You gave your students quite a scare. They were worried about you."

Slowly, Shouta reached out and grabbed the get well card from the table next to his bed. It was blue in color and in thick black letters read, "Get Well Soon Aizawa-sensei!" The multi-color signatures of his students were crammed into every available space.

"They're good kids," Recovery Girl said.

"I couldn't even protect them," Shouta said with a hint of scorn. If nothing else the kids should hate him. They had been so lucky that only weak henchmen had been brought in for this attack. Combine with Yagi's timely entrance, it was miracle that none of the kids had been seriously hurt. Midoriya's fingers withstanding (again).

"You protected them just fine," Recovery Girl said.

"I'll do better next time."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The day it clicked about Midoriya Izuku's quirk was the day the rest of the UA staff was gather outside of the staff room, too afraid to go in. The yelling could be heard through the thick walls.

"YOU CHOSE A CHILD WHO IS AS RECKLESS AS YOU ARE! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

"Now Aizawa…"

"Should we go in and stop them?" Ichiyama asked, pointing at the close door.

Present Mic shook his head. "You're welcome to try, but I know better than to bother Shouta when he's in full mother hen mode."

They jumped as the door slide open and an irritated Shouta glared at them. "Call Recovery Girl. Yagi is coughing up blood again," he snarled.

The teachers looked at each other, before catching a glimpse of a tied up Yagi, bleeding from his mouth.

"Now," Shouta snapped.

Ichiyama was already down the hall. Present Mic placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and gravely said, "Now I know you don't like All Might that much, but don't kill him now."

Shouta scowled. "Kill him?" he hissed. "No, the idiot has to teach his successor how to properly use his Quirk WITHOUT HURTING HIMSELF!"

"Aizawa," Yagi started again.

"Don't 'Aizawa' me! Take responsibility!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Aizawa-sensei."

Shouta turned around. "Midoriya-san," he said with a bow. "I hope Yagi wasn't too overbearing?" He had originally wanted to accompany Yagi to the Midoriya household, but Yagi insisted on going alone and there really wasn't enough time to visit all the parents to convince them to allow the students to stay at dorms at Yuuei. Ultimately, Shouta conceded if only because Yagi was Izuku's mentor.

She shook her head, but Shouta can't help but notice her red rimmed eyes. Her smile was wobbly, but genuine. "I have entrusted Izuku to him and Yuuei," she said, voice unwavering.

Ah. That must have been hard for her. He was truly surprised by how many parents were so accepting of the proposal. It hadn't been that long since the turbulent times before All Might became the Symbol of Peace.

"Please take care of my son, Aizawa-sensei," Inko asked.

"Of course, Midoriya-san."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Aizawa-sensei!"

Shouta shuffled, the tight bandages making it difficult to move. "Asui," he greeted. He was relieved to see his student wasn't harmed. Shigaraki had come too close to hurting her during the invasion. Shouta counted his every blessing that his Quirk had been able to erase Shigaraki's Quirk.

"Thank you," Asui said.

"You're welcome."

He would see all of his students to graduations or die trying.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"So… you're going to be dorm advisor huh?" Present Mic asked.

Shouta cradled his head. "Unfortunately, yes."

"I'll buy your first bottle of aspirin."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"So this is your class huh?" Ms. Joke said brightly, laughing.

"Yes," Shouta agreed. As usual, they often sat next to each, analyzing each other's class. A second pair of eyes from a different school offered much additional insight. It had become a tradition for the two of them compare notes, despite Ms. Joke's terrible sense of humor.

"I'm surprised you showed up with a full class! You usually expel a couple by this point," Ms. Joke said as they took a seat in the bleachers, waiting for the first exam to start.

Shouta shrugged.

"You must have a lot of faith in this batch huh?"

Shouta smiled at that, feeling a warm burst of pride. "Yeah. They'll do fine."

Here was the next generation of heroes.

* * *

Please leave a review on your way out!


End file.
